After the news broke on June 27th that two former Chinese Defense Ministers had been indicted by the Communist authorities, reports surfaced online that Geng Liaoyuan, a former Major General and former Director of the Political Department of the Central Military Commission, had committed suicide by hanging himself, drawing attention from the public.
According to various sources including independent commentator Cai Shengkun on a social media platform X, on the evening of June 27, 2024, Geng Liaoyuan was found dead at home by hanging himself.
Earlier on the same day, the Chinese authorities announced the indictment of the two former Defense Ministers, Li Shangfu and Wei Feng, on charges related to bribery.
As of now, the authorities have not officially reported on the investigation or suicide of Geng Liaoyuan. If confirmed, Geng Liaoyuan would be the first military officer within the Chinese Communist Party to commit suicide this year.
Public records show that Geng Liaoyuan, a native of Qixian County in Henan Province, had held various positions within the Central Military Commission, including Director of the Political Department of the General Staff Communication Department, Director of the Political Department of the General Staff, and member of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Communist Party’s Central Committee.
Regarding the news of Geng Liaoyuan’s suicide at home, many internet users commented, “This is ruthless, even more so than the Japanese dealt with Communist generals.” “This is happening before any war breaks out, and losing so many generals consecutively puts being a Communist general at higher risk than a Russian one.” “Stalin-style purges and physical eliminations are happening nakedly in front of the whole world.”
Some netizens remarked, “Without a proper system, corrupt officials cannot be dealt with fully. This is both limited by Xi’s intelligence and what the Communist Party hopes for—to put on a show for the common people.”
In recent years, the Chinese authorities have been continuing their crackdown within the military, with frequent reports of military officers committing suicide, though such news is often suppressed by the authorities.
In July of last year, according to reports from The Paper, Major General Wu Guohua, former Deputy Commander of the Rocket Force, passed away in Beijing on July 4, 2023, due to ineffective medical treatment.
Two days later, news regarding Wu Guohua circulated on mainland Chinese social media, with his former superior Major General Zhang Xiaoyang revealing on his social media that Wu Guohua had hung himself in the third-floor bathroom at home due to “intense work pressure” and “family discord.”
It is worth mentioning that both Wu Guohua and Geng Liaoyuan had previously served in the Central Military Commission. In 2016, the Central General Staff Department of the Chinese Communist Party was split into seven departments, including the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission.
On September 13, 2016, a mainland Chinese reading platform “Dujia” released a news on their official Weibo that Major General Qu Rui, who had served as Deputy Chief of Staff for the 70th anniversary parade, hung himself by tearing his clothing into strips, making a rope, and hanging himself on the door frame. Four guards were arrested.
The South China Morning Post previously cited two sources from the Chinese military indicating that Qu Rui, who had previously served as Deputy Director of the Office of the Leadership Group for the September 3rd Parade and currently held the position of Deputy Director of the Operations Division of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, was taken away by military disciplinary personnel at the end of July.
Should the news of Qu Rui’s suicide be confirmed, it would mark the first case of a military figure committing suicide while under investigation for anti-corruption activities.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, there have been several cases of military leaders who have died by suicide, but they had done so while free, unlike Qu Rui who took his own life while under tight supervision.
According to media investigations, in 2016, including Qu Rui, at least four Communist military leaders had committed suicide, and three leaders had mysteriously “disappeared” shortly after being promoted.
According to a report from the Hong Kong magazine “Frontline” from 2012, starting with the anti-corruption campaign following the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to 2016, there had been 1235 cases of party, government, and military officials committing suicide, resulting in the death of 782 individuals.